More Women's World Championships Interviews: Rebecca Bross | Bridget Sloan | Kayla Williams
Hong takes home bronze medal on beam at '09 Worlds

By Luan Peszek
Photo by John Cheng

The 2009 World Gymnastics Championships took place in London, Oct. 13-18, and the USA claimed a total of five medals, including two gold, one silver and two bronze. Bridget Sloan of Pittsboro, Ind., and Rebecca Bross of Plano, Texas, dazzled on the world stage in the women's all-around final, going 1-2 in the all-around rankings. During event finals, the powerful Kayla Williams of Huntington, W. Va., won the gold medal on vault, the graceful Ivana Hong of Allen, Texas, won the bronze medal on beam, and Bross's difficulty-packed skills on uneven bars earned her the bronze medal.

Ivana Hong

USA Gymnastics: What was the best part of the World Championships trip for you?
Ivana: Being able to compete in my first individual event finals and bringing back a medal for USA.

USA Gymnastics: What was your best event and why?
Ivana: Beam was my best event because I qualified into finals and was able to medal.

USA Gymnastics: What was it like to compete for the U.S. at the World Championships?
Ivana: It is such an honor and privilege to represent the U.S. at any competition. We are such a strong country and having "USA" on our attire brings us so much pride. I'm glad we were able to go out and show the world what we have got.

USA Gymnastics: What was it like to win a medal on beam?
Ivana: Winning a medal on beam was a moment to remember. It was my first individual Worlds medal and I hope to add more to this new collection.

USA Gymnastics: What was the food like?
Ivana: We ate at the hotel every day, but surprisingly the food was very tasty.

USA Gymnastics: Who did you room with?
Ivana: Bridget and I roomed together. We had a lot of fun and were good roommates.

USA Gymnastics: Did you get to sightsee?
Ivana: Yes. The day after the last day of competition we had an early start to our day to go sightseeing. We had a tour guide on the bus with us who gave us some brief history of all the places we got to see including Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and the London Eye.

USA Gymnastics: What is London like?
Ivana: London is a very beautiful city. We were lucky to have unseasonably great weather. The people were nice and we enjoyed listening to their accents.

USA Gymnastics: How did you handle homework when you were traveling?
Ivana: I let my teachers know beforehand when I was leaving and how long I might be gone and they were very supportive and gathered as much homework as possible for me to take with me on my trip.

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